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How to play Contexto

In Contexto the clue isn't spelling — it's meaning. Every guess tells you how close you are to the secret word, in a ranking of thousands of words. It's a game of association, and every round tells a little story.

What it is

Each day there is one secret word, the same for every player in that language (English and Portuguese have different words). Behind it sits a closeness ranking: around fifteen thousand words ordered by how similar their meaning is to the secret word. The ranking is computed in advance by a language model, which learns which words tend to show up in the same contexts — hence the name.

The secret word is number 1. Dictionary synonyms sit right behind it in the top spots. The lower your guess's number, the warmer you are.

The rules, step by step

1. Type a guess and press Enter. Any word in the game's vocabulary with two letters or more is fine.
2. See its position. The guess joins the list with its ranking number and a coloured bar:
   • green — position 150 or better (very close);
   • yellow — up to position 750 (warm);
   • red — beyond 750 (far).
3. Use the list. It's sorted from closest to farthest, and your latest guess is highlighted at the top.
4. Guesses are unlimited. The counter shows how many different guesses you've made. Repeated or unknown words don't count.
5. Word forms count as their base word. Plurals and verb forms are accepted and get the position of the dictionary form, and typing a form of the secret word wins too.
6. Find number 1. There's no giving up: the round ends when you find the word.

A sample game

The numbers below are illustrative — every day has its own ranking — but they show how the reasoning goes.

Notice the approach: a far guess (car) says little, but every yellow or green guess points somewhere. From "beach" on, the question becomes "what goes with beach?" — and the green words narrow the theme until only one is left.

Strategy

• Start broad. Use your first guesses to map the territory: try words from very different areas (nature, home, body, feelings, work) and see which one warms up.
• Always follow your best guess. Look at the top of the list and ask: which words come up alongside this one in conversation?
• Think context, not letters. The ranking ignores spelling. "Sea" and "seat" usually sit far apart; "sea" and "ocean" close together.
• Try synonyms once you're green. Since dictionary synonyms fill the top spots, a guess under 10 is often one synonym away.
• Prefer the base form. Word forms score the same as the dictionary form, so "run" and "running" give you the same information — don't spend guesses on both.

Common mistakes

• Sticking with a red theme. Beyond 750 the signal is weak: switch topics instead of making ten similar guesses.
• Confusing sound with sense. Words that look alike can be thousands of places apart.
• Only looking at the top guess. Sometimes your second or third best opens a path the first doesn't.

The hint (💡)

Signed in, you can buy a hint with coins. It reveals a word about 25% closer than your best guess so far — if your best is at 400, the hint shows something around 300. You need at least one guess first, and the hint switches off once you're in the top 50: the final stretch is up to you. The revealed word shows with a 💡 in the list, doesn't count as a guess on the leaderboard, and the daily leaderboard shows how many hints each player used. You can ask for as many as you like, each at its own cost.

Leaderboard, rewards and sharing

Signed out you can play normally, with progress saved on your device. With a Google account, solving earns coins and 50 XP, counts towards your streak and missions, and puts you on the daily leaderboard: fewest guesses wins, with ties going to the faster player. When you're done, you can share how many tries it took without revealing the word.

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